Teen Privacy and Location Sharing: A Parent’s Guide

Teens share more than they realize: live location in map features, school names in bios, photos with location data, and personal details collected by apps and advertisers. This guide covers what to check, how to talk about family location sharing without damaging trust, and what U.S. children’s privacy law requires of companies. Checked October 25, 2026.

What teens give away without realizing

• Live location through map features in social apps, “find my friends” style sharing, and check-ins.
• Location in photos stored in the image’s data, or visible in the background: a house number, school sign or car plate.
• Personal details in profiles: full name, school, team, birthday and links to other accounts.
• Routines revealed by posting from the same places at the same times.
• Data collected by apps through permissions for location, contacts, camera and microphone.

Lock down the settings: a 15-minute checkup

1. Location services. On iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and set apps to “While Using” or “Never”. Turn off Precise Location for apps that don’t need it. See App Permissions on iPhone. On Android, check location permissions in Settings.
2. Map features in social apps. Check whether location is shared with friends on the app’s map and switch to a private or “ghost” mode if available. Our Snapchat Family Center guide covers this.
3. Private accounts. Set social accounts to private and review who can message, tag and find your teen. See Instagram Teen Accounts and TikTok Family Pairing.
4. Profile cleanup. Remove school name, full birthday, phone number and links that make it easy to find them offline.
5. App permissions. Remove access to contacts, microphone and photos for apps that don’t need it.
6. Shared albums. Check who can see family photos. See Who Can See a Shared Photo Album.

Family location sharing: agree, don’t spy

Many families share locations through Find My, Google Maps or a family safety app. It can bring peace of mind, but secret tracking tends to backfire once teens find out. A few principles help:

• Be open about it. Explain why you want to share and agree on it together.
• Make it two-way. Parents share their location too.
• Agree when you’ll check. For example, only when they’re late or traveling, not constantly.
• Plan for more independence as they get older, and set a date to review the arrangement.
• Know how to turn it off. Location sharing can also be misused in controlling relationships. See Family Location Sharing: What It Shows and How to Turn It Off, and iPhone’s Safety Check in Built-In Phone Privacy Tools.

Your rights under COPPA

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) applies to websites and apps aimed at children under 13, or that know they collect data from children under 13. In January 2025 the FTC finalized updates to its COPPA Rule. Covered services must now get a parent’s separate, opt-in consent before disclosing a child’s personal information to third parties for targeted advertising and other purposes, and can’t keep children’s data indefinitely. You can:

• Ask a covered service what data it has about your child under 13.
• Ask it to delete that data and stop collecting more.
• Report suspected violations to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

COPPA doesn’t cover teens 13 and over, though some states have their own privacy laws for minors. For teens, settings and good habits matter most.

Protect your child’s identity too

Children’s Social Security numbers are attractive to identity thieves because nobody checks a child’s credit for years. A free credit freeze for your child prevents new accounts being opened in their name. See How to Freeze a Child’s Credit, and ask schools and apps why they need your child’s SSN before sharing it. See School Apps: What Parents Can Ask.

Talking points for teens

• “Post after you leave a place, not while you’re there.”
• “If you wouldn’t tell a stranger at the mall, don’t put it in your bio.”
• “Only share your location with people you know in real life, and check that list now and then.”

Quick checklist

• App location set to “While Using” or “Never”
• Social map location off or limited to close friends
• Accounts private and profiles cleaned up
• Family location sharing agreed openly, with a review date
• Child’s credit frozen

Frequently asked questions

Should I track my teen’s location?
That’s a family decision. Openly agreed sharing works best. Secret tracking can damage trust and push teens toward hidden accounts or second phones.

Do photos reveal where they were taken?
They can. Phones often store location in the photo file. Many apps strip it when you post, but it may remain when photos are sent as files or shared through some services. You can turn off location for the camera in your phone’s settings.

Can I see which companies collect data about my family?
Our Privacy Policies Watch reviews explain what big companies collect and which settings to change.

Sources

• FTC Finalizes Changes to Children’s Privacy Rule Limiting Companies’ Ability to Monetize Kids’ Data, Federal Trade Commission (January 16, 2025), accessed October 25, 2026
• Kids’ Privacy (COPPA), Federal Trade Commission, accessed October 25, 2026